


In the pits

by Servena



Category: Rush (2013)
Genre: Bickering, Frenemies, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-09
Updated: 2016-07-09
Packaged: 2018-08-24 06:12:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 598
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8360491
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Servena/pseuds/Servena
Summary: “Niki, Hunt is on his way here. Should I turn him away?”





	

**Author's Note:**

> For the Sommerchallenge 2016.

“Niki.”

There’s a mechanic hovering behind him. He doesn’t turn around and instead pulls the last screw tight. It’s always risky to make adjustments so shortly before a race without having tested them beforehand, but he has thought this through. The adjusted rear wing should give him better traction on the track. If not – well, more luck to Hunt.

Speaking of which, the mechanic behind him tries again. “Niki, Hunt is on his way here.”

Niki makes an affirmative noise and cleans a bit of oil off the engine cover. He needs to have a talk with the team, the car can’t go into a race looking like this. Though judging by the weather, it will soon look much worse.

“Should I turn him away?” the mechanic asks.

Niki waves him off. “Let him come.”

For a moment the mechanic looks like he wants to object, but then he just shrugs. It’s become a familiar occurrence before the races, and as long as no one is throwing tools at each other, it doesn’t really concern him. Though he will never understand why Niki bothers.

Niki is wiping down the rest of the car when he hears a familiar voice behind him ask, “You planning to race with that or put it in a museum?” He turns around.

James is already wearing his racing overalls, but is still barefoot, as he likes to be. The puddles on the asphalt from the last downpour don’t seem to bother him.

“It’s relaxing. You should try it some time.”  Niki cowers down to clean the front wing.

James snorts. “All this isn’t gonna help you out there. I’m better under these conditions and you know it.”

Niki looks up to him. “Because you drive like a maniac”, he says simply.

“Because I’m willing to risk something!” James shouts. “If you don’t get that, then you don’t belong here.”

Niki gets up and starts clearing the tools away. “I’m doing quite fine, if you noticed. Do you really think you can discourage me like this? Or are you getting desperate? You don’t have much time left to catch up to me.”

“Because you cheated!” James explodes. “They may have given me the points for Spain, but we still had to restructure the whole damn car because of 1.8 bloody centimetres, which caused two breakdowns! You knew you couldn’t beat me on the track, so you sent your shady lawyers to do the job. That’s just low! It shows that you’re the one who doesn’t take this seriously, not me!”

“Are you feeling better now?” Niki asks when James finally stops for breath.

“As a matter of fact, I do. See you on the podium where I’ll be looking down at you.”

“We’ll see”, Niki just says and watches him leave.

 

James Hunt has been spewing his guts out before every race since his early time in Formula 3. No matter how well prepared, how good the weather, how easy the track, the anticipation just turns his stomach. He thought that would never change.

Until he got into his first row with Niki right before a race and they ended up shouting at each other in the pit lane. It wasn’t until he was sitting in his car waiting for the flag when he realized that he hadn’t been throwing up, hadn’t even been feeling sick.

It took a few more races until he fully understood that the fights with Niki calm his fraying nerves. It works better than any drug or relaxation technique he’s ever tried.

Occasionally he wonders if Niki knows.


End file.
